Message from the students

Street rallies held to mark the downfall of Soeharto are often tainted by clashes -- more often than not between the police and students -- leaving the people, time and again, astounded.

The police often charge that the students tend to be anarchistic in channeling their aspirations, and should these allegations be true, the students are indeed preposterous.

Lamentably, the police, too, seem unable to restrain their emotions in dealing with the students. Feeling enraged, they turn violent, beating and kicking the students. This violence is also preposterous.

Clashes and beatings demonstrate how deeply fascism is ingrained in our society, both on the part of the police and the youth of this country.

Why have the students taken to the streets again? In the rally on Tuesday, the students wished to commemorate the victory of a big event four years ago, when they successfully toppled a government fraught with corruption, collusion and nepotism under former president Soeharto -- who has been shown to have run the country by means of fascism.

The rally, however, shows that dissatisfaction still exists. The government should respond to the demonstrations by working even harder to realize the reform agenda, not by showing off fascist actions through violence and power.

The students will be even more disappointed if the authorities respond to them with violence. Moreover, the students will be even more disappointed if they suspect that the violence is used to retain power.

-- Republika, Jakarta